Background of The Company
In the modern ever competitive business world, organizations have been compelled to devise outstanding strategies to attract and retain customers to stay ahead of their competitors and avoid being edged out of the market. Different organizations adopt different strategies which are dependent on the particular business aims adopted by an organization as well as the overall vision and mission. An organization can adopt marketing strategies to attract new customers, increase market share, improve customer loyalty, increase market share, retain existing customers, offer offers to the existing customers and introduce new products into the market among others. A marketing strategy is a strategy containing an organization’s marketing goals compiled as one comprehensive plan and which is based on market research a majorly focused on the product mix (Sanin,2015)This report analyzes the marketing strategies adopted and the various options available for Aldi.
Aldi is an international supermarket brand made up of two discount supermarket chains, which currently has branches in over 18 countries world over with stores totaling up to 10,000.The chain was established in the year 1946 by two brothers Albert Theo and Karl after taking over the ownership of a store that belonged to their mother and which had been operating since the year 1913. The company has an estimated turnover of over €50 billion. The company was however split into Aldi Sud and Aldi Nord by the brothers in 1960 over a dispute on the sale of cigarettes and has ever since remained as two separate legal entities although jointly owned. International expansion of Aldi commenced in 1967 when Adi Sud opened its first grocery chain in Austria. This was later followed by Aldi Nord opening its first store outside Germany in the year 1973. The grocery has since expanded to several other countries. The Company opened its doors in Australia in the year 2001 when started its first store. As per the current data the company has over 470 stores distributed in various cities in Australia. The company has in the short time of its operations made a major mark in the Australian Market emerging among the best retailers in Australia. Its entrance into Australia brought a significant boost to the market through its improvement on quality and perception of private label goods as well as the prices (Facebook.com, 2017). The company’s impact on the Australian market has been remarkable especially through its introduction of some market-leading initiatives that had never been adopted in before by any retailer in Australia. The Grocery has in place a comprehensive and ambitious expansion plan with many other stores in the offing for the Eastern Seaboard. The company is in a constant pursuit of new employee opportunities, logistics, and properties. The company has continued to be embraced by various consumers in Australia due to the various strategies that it has adopted in its operations(Aldi.com.au, 2017) The case of Aldi presents an organization whose prospects are still very high in as far as new stores and investments are concerned.
Marketing Analysis
The company has since its inception focused on being customer’s grocery of choice for many consumers in Australia. Its main focus has been on offering variety, high quality, and lowly priced goods. For this reason, it has greatly adopted the use of marketing mix and promotional strategies to appeal to its customers.
Low prices are one of the aspects that have been the reason for the success of the. The Grocery Significantly charges low prices for its brand products without changing the quality, a strategy that has not been carried out by its main competitors (Smith,2007). In as far as the price of its products is concerned, the grocery has put in place several other strategies including Market penetration strategy in which the Grocery charges meager prices for its new products to enable them to penetrate the market with ease, competitive pricing under which it sets lower prices for its products compared to its competitors especially because of its ability to utilize economies of scale, psychological pricing which involves having minor differences in prices of commodities such as having a price of USD 1.9 Instead 2 USD for a particular item and loss leader pricing in which it charges low prices for its nonfood products to attract customers to the groceries so that they also purchase groceries enabling it to recover the foregone profit (De Wulf, et al,2015)
The Grocery has over 470 stores distributed in various Australian Cities and is still open more. Other than these physical stores, Aldi has a strong online presence which enables its customers updated on the availability of products. All its products are procured from suppliers in bulk to enable it to minimize the costs for its customers; its products are also stored in local warehouses for easier availability to customers (Merrilees and Miller, 2011).
The Grocery offers food and beverage products of high quality and low prices as compared to its competitors. Its products are bought from some selected suppliers and branded following the standards of the supermarket enabling it to have control over the production and pricing. The grocery also offers many products including fresh fruits and vegetables, electronic products, clothes, beauty and health products and household goods (Kumar, 2007).The grocery also has some self-serve gas stations near its stores in various parts of Australia
Aldi uses some unique techniques to promote its products and monitor the effectiveness of advertising media. These include above the line promotion technique which includes running adverts on TVs and distribution of flyers, below the line promotion technique which involves third-party endorsements, use of social media and targeted emails to customers (Dwivedi,et al,2012)
Marketing Strategy
To help it move forward, Aldi can make use of the following strategic management options
Digital media marketing has become a particular area of focus by businesses in the recent times due to the growing power of the internet. The Organization can capitalize more on digital media marketing. It can do this through the use of techniques such as paid Google search ad words, organic search, inbound marketing and social media. With the growing consumption of the internet, digital marketing can significantly help the organization to move forward. With the use of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, the grocery can easily connect with current and prospective clients to foster communication and engagement and help in the creation of online conversations about some of the Grocery’s products online. In particular, since it is a business to consumer supermarket, a strong Facebook marketing plan would give it a tremendous boost (Semeijn, Van Riel and Ambrosini,2004)
This is a method aimed at creating a big buzz or interest about a particular product. The Grocery can use this strategy to create a wow moment that leaves a lasting impression in the eyes of the public regarding its brand. This strategy can result in a permanent association of some clients with the company. Examples of such strategies would include creating viral YouTube videos, using catchy signs to market the brand and the use of special events. Such would make people keep remembering the Grocery’s brand which would translate to increased sales (Kumar,2008)
Relationship marketing strategy is focused on establishing long-lasting relationships between an organization and its customers. The interaction between an organization and customers is not necessarily aimed at creating sales but establishing relationships. The Organization can make use of this strategy to help in strengthening their markets and create customer loyalty. Customers with whom an organization has established positive relationships tend to spend more on the organizations brand (Geuens, Brengman and S’Jegers,2013)
Conclusion
In conclusion, Aldi can be viewed as an example of a successful organization having begun as a simple store in Germany to the current more than 10.000 store across the world. Aldi Australia since its establishment in 2001 has made tremendous progress to become among the top retailers in the country. The focus on quality and low prices for products has been among the reasons for its current success. Some of the strategies it has used include offering a variety of products for its customers, charging low prices compared to its competitors, using different promotional techniques and opening several stores in different parts of the country. It can, however, capitalize on relationship marketing, digital marketing, and guerilla marketing strategies among others to help it move forward.
References
Aldi.com.au. (2017). Discount supermarket offering smarter shopping – ALDI Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.aldi.com.au [Accessed 21 Sep. 2017].
De Wulf, K., Odekerken-Schröder, G., Goedertier, F. and Van Ossel, G., 2015. Consumer perceptions of store brands versus national brands. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 22(4), pp.223-232.
Facebook.com. (2017). ALDI Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/ALDI.Australia [Accessed 21 Sep. 2017].
Geuens, M., Brengman, M. and S’Jegers, R., 2013. Food retailing, now and in the future. A consumer perspective. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 10(4), pp.241-251.
Kumar, N., 2007. Private label strategy: How to meet the store brand challenge. Harvard Business Review Press.
Kumar, N., 2008. Strategies to fight low-cost rivals. Harvard business review, 84(12), p.104.
Merrilees, B. and Miller, D., 2011. Innovation and strategy in the Australian supermarket industry. Journal of Food Products Marketing, 7(4), pp.3-18.
Dwivedi, A., Merrilees, B., Miller, D. and Herington, C., 2012. Brand, value and relationship equities and loyalty-intentions in the Australian supermarket industry. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 19(5), pp.526-536.
Sanin, J.D., 2015. A BIG Responsibility! The Moralization of markets and Rise of supermarket patriotism. Sites: a journal of social anthropology and cultural studies, 12(1), pp.83-106.
Semeijn, J., Van Riel, A.C. and Ambrosini, A.B., 2007. Consumer evaluations of store brands: effects of store image and product attributes. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 11(4), pp.247-258.
Smith, R.L., 2007. The Australian grocery industry: a competition perspective. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 50(1), pp.33-50.
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